Nestlé Canada launches Youth Initiative

Sep 23, 2015

Nestlé Canada is proud to announce the official launch of its Youth Initiative – a multifaceted program that will offer more than 5,000 young Canadians the opportunity to develop their professional skills, increase their employability and expand their network over the next three years. The Youth Initiative is part of Nestlé’s broader efforts to help tackle the global unemployment crisis and develop future talent for the company.

Globally, youth unemployment levels are significantly high and in Canada, the youth unemployment rate is double that of the national rate. Nestlé’s Youth Employment Survey shows that while youth unemployment is a prevalent issue across Canada, only 25 per cent of Canadians says their place of employment offers intern/apprenticeship programs to help youth gain entry level experience. Through entry level positions, internships, formalized training programs and ‘readiness for work activities’ Nestlé is committed to helping young adults prepare for the workforce and is creating growth for the Canadian market and Nestlé.

The Canadian program builds off of the success of Nestlé’s Global Youth Initiative and is an extension of many of the programs already in place in the Canadian marketplace. The initiative consists of four pillars:

Get Support – Nestlé is providing ‘readiness to work activities’ including networking events, career counselling, information sessions and recruitment workshops at universities and colleges. Nestlé is also the proud sponsor of the Queen's Marketing Association Conference Case Competition, in which the winning team will win an internship at Nestlé.

Get Skilled - Nestlé is committed to increasing internships by 25 per cent over three years across all Nestlé in Canada businesses.

Get Hired - By 2017, Nestlé will increase new grad hires by five per cent across all Nestlé in Canada businesses through formalized training programs and entry level positions.

Get More Opportunities – Nestlé is reaching out to partners to encourage them to open their doors to create opportunities for young adults across Canada.